


Just A Question

by Lady_Felucia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, kylux - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren Fluff, Darth Tantrum and his Evil Space Ginger, Domestic Fluff, Engagement, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Male Character, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Idiots in Love, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Romantic Fluff, Short & Sweet, Short Story, Star Wars - Freeform, Sweet, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-19 03:23:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15501231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Felucia/pseuds/Lady_Felucia
Summary: Kylo Ren and Hux have been living and loving together for a great deal of time. Both men are happy, and feel that their relationship is on solid footing .... but one of them wants to push the limits of their union a bit further than the other is ready to handle.





	Just A Question

The room was dark, but he could just make out the shape of Hux, sitting in his chair. Likely he had been waiting up for Ren to come home, and had fallen asleep. His elbow was cocked on the armrest, his cheek propped against his fist.

Kylo tiptoed across the carpet, and knelt on the floor in front of Hux. He put both arms gently around the redhead’s waist, and laid his head in his lap.

It took a few moments for Hux to fight the fog of sleep, but he gradually woke up, smiling down sleepily at Kylo.

“You’re home,” he said, softly, reaching out to stroke his hair.

“I’m home,” Kylo agreed, his voice just slightly muffled.

“How was your mission?”

“The lead we were chasing turned out to be false. But on a positive note, we discovered a mine full of fire emeralds. My men extracted what could be taken safely; the gems should bring in a substantial amount of credits, from the right buyer. Maybe enough to replace all those class-2 fighters we lost during the skirmish with Lothal.”

“That’s good,” Hux said, continuing to stroke Kylo’s hair. “Are you hungry or anything? Shall I make you something to eat?”

Kylo shook his head. “No. I’m happy here. Talk to me; tell me about your day.”

Hux spoke softly to him, telling him all that he had done. As he talked, he wondered, as he always did, whether Kylo understood how much he appreciated this. Hux knew that his days were horrifically dull in comparison to all that Kylo did, but Kylo listened to him and acted like what he said was fascinating. It made Hux feel good, in a way that few other things did.

“I like coming home to you,” Kylo said when Hux was finished, pressing his head deeper into Hux’s lap. “Marry me?”

Hux chuckled. “‘Marry’ you? Oh, Kylo, you’re amusing.”

Kylo looked up at him. “Why is that amusing? I’m being serious.”

Still thinking that he was joking, Hux said, “Because, given our line of work, combined with observational data from others in the Order who have embarked on a marital journey, the statistical probability of us divorcing within the first 5 years is at least 60%.”

“Well, it’d be a hell of a five years, don’t you think?”

“Kylo —“

Kylo picked his head up, leaned into Hux and kissed him.

“You need time to think about it. Okay, I can accept that. Big decisions should always contain a healthy amount of deliberation. So I’ll tell you what: I’ll put the ring on top of the dresser in the bedroom. If you decide you do want to marry me, you can put it on. If not, hand it back to me. But take your time in choosing.”

“Stop tooling with me, ‘Lo. You did not buy me a ring.”

“You’re right, I didn’t. I had it made, with a bit of silver from my necklace, and a good piece of one of the fire emeralds.”

Now Hux was positive that Kylo was teasing him. The necklace he spoke of was one that was very important to him, given to him by his mother at birth. It held the traditional symbols of Alderaan royalty, and it was the only thing that Kylo carried with him from his former life into this new one. He cherished that thing; there was no possible way he took even a tiny piece of it to create a ring.

So Hux kissed him, then stood up and stretched.

“I’m going to take a bath. Would you like to join me?”

Kylo stood as well. “Tempting, but no. I’m going to head into the bedroom, I’m a bit tired.”

So Hux went to take his bath, feeling comfortably invigorated by the time he came out. He walked quietly into the bedroom; Kylo had fallen asleep, tucked into the mountain of blankets. 

Hux tiptoed to the dresser to get some pajamas out, and froze. On the top was a small, shining object, glistening so brightly that it illuminated that corner of the otherwise dark room.

It was ... it was a ring.

The most beautiful ring that Hux had ever seen. The band was a thick, smooth silver, and square shaped red-green stones, _fire emeralds_ , were set all the way around the circle.

Hux’s mouth dropped as he picked it up and turned it this way and that, examining it.

Kylo ... had been serious.

Hux’s mind started to spin, and he quickly set the ring back down before he could drop it. He forced himself to get dressed, then to climb into bed, before the lightheadedness overcame him entirely.

Marriage?

— -

The next few days were a bit odd, for them both.

Kylo knew that Hux had seen the ring; it was in the background of his thoughts almost constantly. Hux knew that Kylo was waiting on him to make some sort of decision; to either put it on, or give it back to him.

But Hux wasn’t sure what to do.

He loved Kylo, and he knew that Kylo loved him, but he was afraid. Marriage would be taking a huge step for them, and taking their commitment to each other to another level entirely. And Hux didn’t understand why Kylo didn’t seem to think that what they had right now, was fine the way it was. 

Why wasn’t living together enough?  
Why wasn’t loving each other enough?

What possible difference, could saying a few lines in front of a droid, and exchanging a kiss, make?

So the ring just sat there, watching them while they slept. And neither man brought it up to the other, each scared and unsure of what the other was thinking.

But other than this unspoken anomaly, their domestic routine didn’t falter any.

Kylo almost always woke up before the dawn, as he spent the early morning exercising and training. His routine was always the same: he would get up and sit at the very end of the bed, stretching his arms and legs until all the joints cracked. When he felt he was limber enough, he’d drop to the floor and do a staggering amount of pushups and sit-ups. From there, he’d dress in his fatigues and leave, going first for his long run around the base (or the ship, if they were in space) then heading to his personal gym for a more intensive workout. After all of that, he would return to his quarters, shower, and then meet Snoke for Force-training and meditation.

Hux almost never woke up until Kylo was back in-between sessions to change. If Kylo was ahead of schedule and had a few spare moments, he’d surprise Hux by making his tea for him, and bringing him a steaming cup in bed, to wake up with. By the time Kylo came back from Snoke, Hux was dressed and gone for his lengthy days of meetings, drills, and strategizing. More often than not, Kylo would be sent out on missions, or kept busy with prisoners, so the two very rarely crossed paths during the day.

Evenings were what they both looked forward to.

They talked, they laughed, they cuddled, they ate. Sometimes, if the mood struck, they would make love for hours at a time. But the point was, no matter what they did, it was something that they experienced together.

Hux especially enjoyed their talks. He had come from a household with a strict father that didn’t allow unnecessary words being spoken, and Kylo’s parents, when they did speak, (or when they were even HOME), would communicate primarily through arguments and yelling.

But talking to Kylo ...

Hux was sitting on the sofa, typing out notes for his meeting tomorrow on his DataPad. Kylo was spread longways, his head on Hux’s lap. He had been napping for about an hour; now he was awake and talking.

“Do you think I should cut my hair?”

“No. I don’t.”

“You don’t think it’s too long?”

Hux shook his head, while at the same time using his free hand to stroke gently through the tresses in question.

“I think it’s perfect. In fact there should be more. Have you ever considered growing a beard?”

Kylo laughed and shook his head. “I think that’d look awful on me. But what about YOU? All that red deserves a bigger canvas, don’t you think?”

Hux sighed and put down his DataPad. “Come on; you know I hate my hair.”

Kylo reached up with both hands and pulled Hux’s face down towards him, sinking them into a kiss.

“Well, I love it,” Kylo said, when they parted. “Oh, speaking of love, I have something for you.”

Without moving, he lifted his hand towards the direction of his robe, which was laying over the back of a chair. A small brown pouch floated out of the pocket and into his waiting fingers. He dug around inside of it and smiled as he drew out the piece he was looking for.

“Bought a pie earlier today, when I was on Farsis. The man gave me back THIS in change.”

Hux smiled as he took the coin into his hand, holding it up close to examine the fine details. Hux was a collector of pre-Imperial-era currency pieces, which were extremely rare to find, since the galaxy had adapted the credits system. The only places one could get them now would be by accident, or little backwater towns that still bartered with the old money. This particular coin was a real beauty; solid gold, with a carving of the industrial landscape of Coruscant etched on one side.

“This is beautiful!” Hux exclaimed, leaning down to hug Kylo. “Thank you!”

Kylo flushed pink with pleasure, at being hugged.

“You’re welcome. You don’t have that piece yet, do you?”

“No. I’ve only seen holos of it before.”

He gently moved Kylo’s head from his lap, standing up to go into the bedroom and out the coin in the special case he had for others like it. After he had done this, he paused, as he always did now, in front of the dresser.

He cautiously picked up the ring again, holding it close to his face, admiring how gorgeous it was. But still ...

_This ring may be pretty, but I bet it won’t fit. I don’t believe Ren would take into account how thin my fingers are, and how easily things slip off of them._

So, after quickly sticking his head out the door to make sure that Kylo wasn’t coming, he slid the ring over his finger. His reasoning was that if it didn’t fit, then marriage simply wasn’t —

Oh, no.

It fit.  
_Perfectly._

Hux looked at his finger in awe. He was experiencing a strong feeling, a frightening one. It was as if this object had been infused with magic, because, wearing it, Hux felt like it was connected to him. Attached to his very soul. As if he was destined to wear it, to marry Kylo, to —

“Hux?”, Kylo called out from the living room, making Hux jump a bit. “Did you die in there?”

Hux took the ring off and laid it back in its spot. Was he imagining it, or did his entire finger now seem like it was burning, without it on?

“Coming,” he called, leaving the object behind.

— -

Not all the days were sweet. 

Like any couple, Kylo and Hux would have fights with each other, and quite often, about a LOT of things.

If asked, Kylo would say that their blow-outs were due entirely to Hux. The redhead’s rigid adherence to order and regulation could render him insufferable at times, and his moods could sometimes be horribly impacted when he was under a lot of stress.

This week, he was under stress.

Renovations had begun on Snoke’s flagship, and Hux was made overseer of the construction process. It was difficult to maintain patience; their primary source of labor came from within their own ranks, and not many individuals possessed what Hux would consider adequate skills.

And Kylo wasn’t helping Hux’s stress any; it seemed that Hux had to be pulled away from his work more often than once, to ‘fix’ some destructive fit that Kylo had had.

They were at home now, and Kylo, feeling guilty about the last thing he had done, came up behind Hux, who was sitting with his DataPad on the couch, put his arms around him, and kissed his cheek.

“You know I adore you, right?”

“Really? Am I imagining this, or, this morning, did you tell me to go jump in a sarlacc pit?”

Kylo scowled, coming around to join Hux on the couch. Leaning against him, he muttered, “Oh, shut up.”

After a momentary hesitation, Hux wrapped his arm around Kylo’s shoulders. Rubbing soothingly, he said,

“Do you care to tell me what you’ve done, now; or are you going to force me to wait and hear it from Snoke in the morning?”

Kylo sighed, then turned his head completely and buried his face against Hux’s shoulder.

“You having a little faith in me would be nice,” he mumbled, his voice muffled by the coat sleeve.

“You not constantly creating messes for me to clean up, would be nice. Now what did you do?”

Speaking slowly, and very reluctantly, Kylo confessed: “It’s really not a big deal. I MAY have killed four of your Lietenants, accidentally, with my saber.”

Hux fixed him with a stern look. “How do you ‘accidentally’ kill ONE person, let alone FOUR?!”

Kylo went into a ranting tangent about how the men had displeased him in some way or other, only to be cut off by Hux.

“Well, what happened to the calming exercises we’ve been practicing? The deep breaths, the counting?”

Kylo sat up straighter, casually pulling off his shirt as he did so. Hux knew it wasn’t his imagination that Kylo was subtly flexing, trying to distract him, as he defended himself:

“I tried. I truly did. But I counted to number 6 and then Hartford interrupted me and started talking about how I made the wrong decision, in not pulling back the troops soon enough on that raid yesterday. What else could I have DONE, except gut him?”

“You could have calmly listened to the man. And honestly, it sounds like he had been right, Kylo.”

Sensing that Hux was getting angry, Kylo leaned back into him and gave him a kiss on the neck, before gently nuzzling the spot underneath Hux’s chin.

“You look really nice today, Armitage. And you smell incredible. You’re ...”

“No.”

Kylo pouted and folded his arms across his chest. “You know, you’re not really in a position to shame me, here. Last time I checked, I’M not the one who destroyed FIVE planets, and what was undoubtedly billions of lives.”

Hux sighed.

“Fine, Ren. Touché. But none of those people were our own men, men who I’ll have to go to the effort of replacing in the morning, which is more stress on top of my normal stress, thank you very much.”

“I know what’ll help you relieve some of that tension, baby,” Kylo purred, climbing into Hux’s lap.

Hux groaned and gave Kylo a hard shove with both hands. “Maker, get off! You’re crushing my legs!”

Ignoring him, Kylo pulled himself closer into Hux, his arms around his shoulders.

“I’m trying to get off, sweetheart, but I need some help with that. You help me, I’ll help you? Hm?”

But Hux held fast to his guns. “No! Now kindly detach yourself before I shoot you!”

Kylo groaned and slid off of Hux, then onto his feet.

“Fine, Hux. Then I’m going to bed.”

“ _Thank the Maker_ , for small favors.”

Kylo threw up his hands. “You’re impossible to talk to, you know that? Sometimes I think you don’t love me at all!”

Calmly, Hux said, “If this is your reaction to me not wanting to have sex with you, you’re even more of a spoiled brat than I’d thought.”

“You know, I would think that you’d be flattered. I don’t show affection to just anyone.”

“The way you’re saying that indicates that you feel I should be grateful, or something.”

“You SHOULD be, yes. Do you have any idea how many others on this base desire me? Yet here I am with YOU, the coldest person in the known galaxy.”

Hux rolled his eyes and pulled his coat over his face, sighing. “You know what? Go ahead and seek those people out. I guarantee that their ‘desire’ for you would change around the 3rd time they’ve been woken up out of a deep sleep by you being unnecessarily amorous.”

Kylo sat back down in a huff, turning so that his back was to Hux. “Fine. I’m leaving you first thing tomorrow.”

“For Maker’s sake, why haven’t you gone away yet?!”

“I’m not kidding.”

“Okay.”

“I’m being serious this time. I’m taking all my things and moving back to my own quarters. And THEN I’m going to stroll naked into the Officer’s lounge and tell everyone that I’m open for business.”

“Have fun with that.”

“Then I’m going to take all my new lovers and have sex with them on top of your desk.”

“So long as you don’t disturb my papers, that’s fine.”

“Hux!!”

“Yes?”

Kylo pulled the coat off of Hux’s face.

“You’d really just let me walk out like that?”, he asked, softly.

Hux turned to face Kylo.

“If it’s what you really wanted, yes. But I hope you’re prepared to face the gauntlet, first.”

“What guantlet?”

“For starters, the second you get of this couch, I’m taking my blaster and shooting you. Now, you’re pretty strong, so that may not stop you completely. Next I would get your lightsaber and cut off BOTH of your hands, so that you couldn’t touch anyone else. But, for arguments sake, let’s say that THAT doesn’t deter you, either, and that you do make it to the Officers lounge. I’m putting a bomb in that room and blowing any single person who so much as looks at you sideways, straight to hell. But ok, let’s say at least one person survives that, and is still willing to take you up on your offer. You said you’d be doing it on my desk? I’m underneath the desk with a kriffing sword, and I’m plunging the blade straight through the intestinal track of your would-be lover. Repeatedly. And then I’m dragging you back here, by the hair, and tying you up until you get the ridiculous notion out of your head that you can just leave me.”

Kylo stared at him in amazement. Then he reached out and touched the side of Hux’s face, caressing his cheek.

“You ... you actually DO care about me?”

“I shouldn’t have to threaten you, for you to know that.” 

“Then why —“, Kylo began, but stopped himself just in time. But Hux knew what he had been about to say; he had been going to ask why Hux hadn’t put on the ring. A short silence spun out between them, and then Kylo sighed and stood back up.

“I think I am going to go to bed. I’m tired.”

Hux nodded. “Okay. I just have to finish up with some papers, and I’ll be in.”

“Okay.” Kylo bent down and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry, by the way. For killing your men. And being difficult.”

“Thank you, ‘Lo. I’m sorry for yelling.”

Kylo smiled, then turned and walked into the bedroom.

A short while later, Hux followed him.

— -

“Can I speak to you?”

“Of course.”

“On a, er, a personal level?”

She nodded, sitting down in the chair he indicated.

It was several days later, and Hux was no clearer on what to do than he had been the first time he’d seen the ring. After thinking about it some, he realized that a great deal of what was holding him back, was fear.

He was an extremely cautious man, and he didn’t like going into something without any idea of what to expect. So he had called Captain Phasma into his office, to speak with her on a subject with which she had knowledge.

When she removed her helmet and set it on the edge of his desk, he was struck, as he always was, by how pretty the woman was. He had known Phasma for many years, ever since he had come to the First Order. The two were friends, although, this was something that nobody else knew, as it could be a negative influence on morale. 

“So, Phasma. What I want to ask you is, as I said, of a personal nature. And you’re in no way you obligated to answer, if you don’t want to.”

“You’ve really got my curiosity now. What is it?”

“You, um, you were married, Phasma. You were married, and now you’re not. Your marriage lasted for three years. I was ... I just wondered, why it ended?”

Her face changed so rapidly that Hux immediately regretted asking. Phasma was one of the sweetest people he had ever met, and to hurt her, even unintentionally, was inexcusable.

“You know what? No. That’s none of my —“

But Phasma held up her hand, stopping him.

“No, no, it’s alright. You just took me a little by surprise, that’s all. Um, I don’t know, Hux. It was ... it was a lot.”

“Phasma, you don’t —“

“Hush. Stop interrupting me or I’ll never be able to form this thought.”

She was quiet for a few moments, and Hux waited patiently. Finally, she said,

“When I was a girl, my mother would tell me that marriage is a construct of the lonely. A desperate attempt by one individual to ensure that they won’t be alone, for the foreseeable future.” 

She paused, chuckling a little. “Of course, her perspective was horribly skewed. Her parents had had an arranged marriage, and mother’s own union to my father was ... not good. So I always said that if I got married, it’d be different. I’d pick someone nice, and sensible. Somebody that earned a good living, somebody that I could live with.”

“And you thought you could live with Dolpheld?”

She nodded. “Yes. And that was my mistake, Hux. Picking people that you can just live with, that you feel safe with, is a mistake. You should pick somebody that you can’t live _without_. Somebody that shakes you up from the inside out, that pushes you from your comfort zone, and forces you to explore things about yourself that you didn’t know existed. I ... I didn’t have that, with Dolpheld.”

Hux got up and hugged her to him, tightly. “Thank you for telling me that, Phasma. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

She smiled and hugged him back. “Of course. Er, can I ask WHY, you’re asking me this?”

He just grinned and shook his head. “You’ll see soon enough.”

— -

The next morning, when Kylo came back from his run, he was very surprised to find Hux already awake. Apparently he had made breakfast as well, the entire table loaded down with delicious-looking food.

“What is all this?”

Hux shrugged. “Just thought you’d like something to eat, before we leave?”

“We?”, Kylo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, we. I talked to Snoke, and got us both excused for the day.”

“ _Why?_ ”

“Why not? Hurry up and eat, now; I’m going to go finish getting dressed.”

He left the stunned-looking Kylo at the table, and walked, whistling, into the bedroom. He went to the dresser, picked up the ring, and slid it over his finger. Then he put on his gloves, to hide it. In its place on the dresser, he put a different ring. This one was gold, with sapphire stones going all the way around the band. He wagered that Kylo wouldn’t even notice the switch until after they returned home from their day, and that he would be shocked, when he did.

But that was fine.

If they were going to be married, Kylo needed to get used to Hux surprising him.


End file.
